Project Diamond – Bringing Brilliance to Business

Women are now entering the workplace in equal numbers to men and do so with greater expectations than previously.

However, despite over half a century of progress, the rising importance of female purchasing power and the acceptance of the need for a more feminized working culture, the business world is still dominated by masculine values and women are still experiencing discrimination, sexual harassment and disparity in their remuneration. This is nothing short of shocking.

Whether there’s a glass-ceiling, sticky floor or a concrete-maze with no-one to guide the way, there’s definitely a leaky pipeline with insufficient women holding senior roles.

Women are told to speak up at meetings, to have gravitas, to be more assertive – but within moderation, of course – and to become what is often described as “men in skirts”.

Some thrive, some jump ship. However, they don’t usually bow out of playing their part in the economic life of the country. They may be seeking more flexible working practices or they may want to work in a culture that more readily accepts diversity of thought, values and behaviours. In short, they simply want to find an authentic way to succeed.

Project Diamond started its life 2013, as part of Women in the City’s 10th anniversary celebrations. At that time, it was a publication. Today, we’re repurposing the brand and bringing it to life once again via this microwebsite.

We are creating a platform to help women succeed and men understand that women’s ambitions equal theirs. We want to stimulate discussion, bring inspiration, information and innovation to create a more inclusive, supportive and successful working environment for all. We want to challenge the assumptions, attitudes and beliefs that tell women that they have to approach career growth differently than men, giving sound career and leadership advice without the ‘as a woman’ tag. It’s not about fixing the women, it’s about giving them the tools to “bring brilliance to business.”

The drive and openness towards women’s equality over the last 12 months has inspired us to smash the current framework of support women get to make the most of their opportunities and create bold and defiant approaches that challenge women to be the best they can be – and challenge society to accept it.

Working in partnership with a range of organisations and collaborators we are building a resource that